Into the Gorge
by Lavenderpaw
Summary: Is it insanity... or fate?


**A/N: **On the day Nala gave birth to Kopa…

**I.**

He walked through the sand-sifting indention alone, his red-brown eyes roaming along the jagged line that snaked through the last parts of his Pride lands. Not much had changed in the time that the young king had been gone from this gorge, ironically unlike with all other aspects of Simba's, this particular place seemed to be frozen in time. The faint scent of end filled his pink nose and he let the uncomfortable sensation roll around his nostrils. Almost everyone believed in him - with the exception of a few lionesses favoring Scar - but Simba felt that he couldn't truly rise to the occasion of fatherhood unless he faced his own father.

The earth was quiet under his paws and with the faint sound of the damned river to the far left of him he finally felt at peace with himself. There was no one here. Why would anyone think to look for him in a place where he had lost his cub hood? His mother, queen, Zazu; they wouldn't look for him here! If anything they would take his disappearance as Simba trying to skip out on king duties and running back to his home in the oasis. Simba smiled.

'Right, like I could ever do _that. _Hmm, maybe I could take my son with me.'

As the blue of the sky started clouding around the craggy top, the feline began wondering where the spot he was looking for was. He didn't know what he would find, of course. It had been so long. How heartless could his uncle have been and how deceitful. What could have possessed this kind of corruption? Over the crown? If only Simba had known earlier.

Earlier was when he had been a child.

'All right.' He thought, nearing a snapped branch. "I think this is it." the lion said out loud.

"Simba!l? What'd you doin' here!l?"

"Yeah, your kid's bein' born. Don't'cha want to be there for that?"

'Oh, n-,'

"Just think!" Timon went on and came stalking up to him. "You're gonna miss the birth of your not-daughter!" They both gave him a strange look. "What? A merekat can't dream?"

Simba continued to walk forward.

"Well, Timon, there's dreaming and then there's being hullicinal…"

"You mean _delusional_."

"Right. Right. There's delusional and then there's gender favorite-ism."

The warthog's diminutive friend rasped a sigh. "You mean-,"

"Guys." Simba stopped them from arguing further. "I hear something."

"Yeah," Timon lowered an ear to the ground, "Now that you mention it, I do too."

"Ya think an earthquake's hittin' us?"

"No," the lion brought his eyebrows together and tilted his head up. "It's… the herds!"

"The wha?"

"The _herds, _Timon." Simba turned to him with an excited grin. "Wildebeest, elephants! I can't believe it, the growth of the Pride lands. And-and my child being born. That means-,"

"We're right in the middle of da way." Timon cut him off with dreadful sarcasm.

"We're…" Pumbaa stiffened in realization.

Pebbles and debris started to move on their own.

"… gonna have to move." Simba said blankly.

The three looked at each other, out into the distance and then made a run for the dam.

It felt like thunder, that was the only was to describe it. Simba could feel the sensation as though he were back in time. He hadn't paused to see them like before, he didn't need to. The lion knew what would happen. They flew around the bends as the vibrations were picking up but that was the least of Simba's concerns; his friends were. Timon rode atop Pumbaa but the warthog was becoming increasingly exhausted. The lion stopped, while this earned questionable looks from the merekat and warthog he only ignored the two.

"You got a reason for stoppin'!l?"

A look of austerity crossed Simba's face. "Yes." he said. His bottom lowered. "Grab on!"

"I hope you don't mean…"

The vibrations strengthened then.

"Pumbaa, Timon, _now_!"

As soon as the warthog grasped onto Simba's tail, he shot forward. The king didn't know if they would live or have any plan in mind of how they would escape. He barreled toward the turns even as his energy was sapped. The vibrations were full-out rumbles by now and it took everything Simba had not to fall into despair. But as he kept running he recalled his father's words " 'You are my son' " Yes, that was right. Though now it was the opposite.

An opening in the craggy wall caught the lion's attention. "Hang on!" he yelled.

In a split second, they're backs were to the hard stone as a rush of dirt flew inside. What felt like forever stretched before the threesome. Simba drew up snugger along the inside of the cave's wall, panting hard and wondering if _that _was what he had been expecting. Was what had just happened... coincedence? No, it couldn't be. He slid down a little and turned.

"Simba?" Timon looked up at him.

The lion stared out silently, letting the dusty wind fly straight into his face.

~.~

"Simba! Where have you been? Are you ready?" Zazu questioned him the moment he set foot into the back of Pride rock and peered over at a curious Nala; he sensed someone else come up to his side. A big purple nose nestled into the side of his cheek and smiled into it.

"You can do it, my son. We'll _both_ be watching."

Simba met his mother's eyes before turning to the others, smiling with a nod. "Then yes."

They brightened.

"I'm ready."

The End.

**Author Double Note: **More of this story continued in Offspring of an Outlander!

~ Lavenderpaw ~


End file.
